Systems and methods that integrate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology with agent-based control systems

ABSTRACT

The subject invention relates to systems and methods that distribute electronic data, such as Electronic Product Code (EPC) data, obtained from RFID tags by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers and/or servers to agents within an agent-based control system. The systems and methods employ a component that collects, filters, processes, and stores electronic product data. The component collects electronic product data through corresponding reader and/or server interfaces. This data can be filtered to accept particular electronic product data, processed to a format suitable to the agents, and stored. Such storage can include delineating the electronic product data across rows of a table by electronic product code and across columns of the table by various types of data. Upon receiving a subscription and/or request from an agent for electronic product data, the component can obtain and convey the information to the agent.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/985,621 filed on Nov. 10, 2004 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODSTHAT INTEGRATE RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID) TECHNOLOGY WITHINDUSTRIAL CONTROLLERS,” the entirety of which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject invention relates to industrial control systems and, moreparticularly, to systems and methods that employ radio frequencyidentification (RFID) technology in connection with agent-based controlsystems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging technology thatleverages electronic data and wireless communication for identificationpurposes and can be utilized with systems from secure internet paymentsystems to industrial automation and access control systems. With RFIDsystems, electronic data typically is stored within an RFID tag, whichcan be formed from a small silicon chip and one or more antennas, andaffixed to a product. Reading from and/or writing to an RFID tag can beachieved through radio frequency (RF) based wireless communication viadevices referred to as RFID readers. In general, writing is utilized toadd and/or modify product specific information to an RFID tag, andreading is utilized to retrieve the information, for example, to providefor automatic product identification. In many instances, the electronicdata written to and/or read from an RFID tag includes an ElectronicProduct Code (EPC), which, in general, is a unique number that isencoded (e.g., as a bit code) and embedded within the RFID tag. TypicalEPC data can include information about the product (e.g., product type,date of manufacture, lot number, etc.) and/or associated cases, pallets,and/or container levels, for example.

When passed through or scanned by a reader, an RFID tag emits storedelectronic data such that the data can be retrieved by an RFID readerwithout unpacking the product or scanning barcode labels. Readinformation can be utilized to provide a greater degree of certaintyover what goes into a supply chain and/or how to manage raw materials,warehouse inventory, shipments, logistics, and/or various other aspectsof manufacturing. Conventionally, RFID readers convey electronic dataobtained from RFID tags to a PC based server (e.g., the Savant-likeserver) that performs data filtering and management and providesinterfaces to other Enterprise Applications.

As note above, RFID technology can be utilized in industrial automationsystems. An example of such a system is agent-based manufacturingcontrol systems, which are evolving into robust control systems forlarge series production control systems. In general, an agent-basedcontrol system is a community of autonomous, intelligent computationalunits referred to as agents. Respective agents typically are responsiblefor local decision making and control of one or more explicit parts of amanufacturing process. A key element in such a system is cooperationamong the agents in order to provide a desirable global behavior ofcontrolled systems and/or processes. Cooperation between the agentstypically is based on communication via transmitting messages followingvarious interaction and negotiation scenarios and/or protocols.

With ever shorter product life-cycles, decreasing product launch times,and increasing product variety, conventional manufacturing processesneed to provide more product flexibility and higher volume scalabilitywhile maintaining high product quality and low manufacturing costs.Agent technology is well suited to addressing the control aspects ofthese manufacturing requirements. As autonomous decision-makers, agentsare able to dynamically react to unforeseen events, exploit differentcapabilities of components, and/or adapt flexibly to changes in theirenvironment. The ability of agents to adapt their behavior at run-timereduces the need for the designer to foresee possible scenarios andchanges that the system will encounter; agents can automatically adaptto changing products or varying volumes.

Although RFID technology can be utilized to facilitate agent-basedcontrol systems, there is a need to provide improved techniques tointegrate this technology with such control systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intendedneither to identify key or critical elements of the invention nor todelineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

The systems and methods of the subject invention provide noveltechniques that integrate Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)technology with agent-based control systems through a mediationcomponent (or agent), which obtains electronic data (e.g., electronicproduct data such as Electronic Product Code (EPC) data) from thephysical reader(s) and/or a server and provides the data to other agentsvia agent communication protocols. The systems and methods of thesubject invention employ a component that collects, processes, andstores the electronic data received from the readers and/or servers. Thecomponent collects the electronic data through corresponding reader(e.g., via a plug-in) and/or various server interfaces. This data can befiltered (e.g., to accept data associated with particular electronicdata and to mitigate accepting duplicate electronic data), processed toa format suitable to the agents, and stored. Such storage can includedelineating related electronic data by rows of a table and type of databy columns of the table. Upon receiving a subscription and/or requestfrom an agent for electronic data, the component can obtain and conveythe information to the agent.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described. The followingdescription and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certainillustrative aspects of the invention. However, these aspects areindicative of but a few of the various ways in which the principles ofthe invention can be employed. Other aspects, advantages and novelfeatures of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetailed description of the invention when considered in conjunctionwith the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary mediation component that receives andprovides information in a control system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary agent mediation component thatfacilitates distribution of RFID tag information to one or more agentsin an agent-based control system.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system that conveys electronic data toagents in an agent-based control system.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary technique for collecting, storing anddistributing electronic data in an agent-based control system.

FIG. 5A illustrates exemplary techniques for obtaining electronic datafrom RFID tags in an agent-based control system.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary mapping between one physical reader andtwo logical readers.

FIG. 5C illustrates an exemplary mapping between two physical readersand one logical reader.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary system that employs intelligence tofacilitate electronic product data collection, filtering, processing,storing and/or distribution in an agent-base control system.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary methodology for storing and distributingelectronic product data received from an RFID reader.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary methodology for storing and distributingelectronic product data received from a server.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary methodology for subscribing to receiveelectronic product data.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary methodology for responding to requestsfor historical electronic product data.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computing architecture that can beemployed in connection with the subject invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary networking environment that can beemployed in connection with the subject invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As utilized in this application, terms “component,” “agent,” “module,”“system,” “controller,” “device,” and variants thereof are intended torefer to a computer-related entities, either hardware, a combination ofhardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example,a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on aprocessor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both anapplication running on a server and the server can be a component. Oneor more components can reside within a process and/or thread ofexecution and a component can be localized on one computer and/ordistributed between two or more computers.

The subject invention facilitates distribution of electronic data (e.g.,Electronic Product Code (EPC) data and various other data) obtained byRadio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers from RFID tags and/or fromservers to one or more agents within an agent-based control system. Thesystems and methods of the subject invention employ an agent mediationcomponent that collects, processes, and stores electronic data andprovides the stored electronic data, via inter-agent communicationmechanisms, to the other agents in a multi-agent control system. Suchsystems typical are a community of autonomous, intelligent computationalunits referred to as agents, wherein respective agents are responsiblefor decision making and control of various acts of a manufacturingprocess and cooperate amongst the agents to provide a global behavior.The mediation component can execute in connection with one or more ofthe agents and/or a dedicated agent, for example, within amicroprocessor-based device such as a computer, an industrialcontroller, a hardware module on backplane, and the like.

The subject invention is described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, thatthe present invention may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form in order to facilitate describing the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 that manages electronic productinformation (or data) within an industrial control system. The system100 includes a mediation component 110 that facilitates electronicproduct data exchange (e.g., bi-directional) between components thatread, receive and/or store electronic product data and various entitiesof the control system. The mediation component 110 includes a processingmodule 120, which provides one or more interfaces to the variouscomponents that read, receive and/or store electronic product data, suchas, readers (e.g., RFID) and/or servers. These interfaces generally areutilized to exchange electronic product data (e.g., EPC related data)between the mediation component 110 and the components. Such data caninclude unprocessed (e.g., raw data) and/or processed (e.g., filteredand formatted) electronic product information as described in detailbelow. The interfaces can be based on wire and/or wireless technologies,and suitable technologies include Ethernet (e.g., 10BASE-T, 100BASE-Tand 1000BASE-T), serial port (e.g., RS-232 and RS-422), parallel port,coaxial cable, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Firewire, and the like.

The processing module 120 can obtain the electronic product data viareceiving data pushed by and/or pulled from the readers and/or servers.In one example, the readers can periodically transmit electronic productdata, which can be received by the processing module 120. It is to beappreciated that the processing module 120 can selectively accept suchdata. For example, the processing module 120 can determine whetheravailable electronic product data is associated with the control systemof interest and accept data that this associated with the control systemand ignore, discard, deny . . . data that is not associated with thecontrol system. This discrimination can be facilitated by filters orother software and/or hardware that pass desired and block remainingdata. Alternatively and/or additionally, intelligence can be utilized tofacilitate the selection of suitable electronic product data. In thisinstance, the intelligence can employ machine learning techniques thatutilize statistics, probabilities, inferences, classifiers, etc. torender a decision as to whether electronic product data should beaccepted. In another example, the processing module 120 can transmit amessage to one or more readers that indicates it is ready to receiveelectronic product data. In yet another example, the processing module120 can request (e.g., query) and/or retrieve electronic product datafrom servers. It is to be appreciated that electronic product dataobtained by the processing module 120 can be in the form of a datastream, one or more data bursts and/or one or more data packets. Inaddition, the electronic product data can be compressed, encrypted,encoded, modulated within a carrier envelope, protected (e.g.,password), etc.

Upon receiving electronic product data, the processing module 120 canoperate on the data. For example, the processing module 120 can filter,parse, and/or format the electronic product data. In addition, theprocessing module 120 can selectively extract and/or discard portions ofthe electronic product data. Where the data is compressed, encrypted,encoded, modulated, protected, etc. the processing component 120 can acton the electronic product data in this state and/or decompress, decrypt,decode, demodulate, unprotect, etc. it prior to acting on it. Inaddition, the processing module 120 can store the electronic productdata, for example, within local and/or remote storage components. Forexample, the meditation component 110 and/or the processing module 120can include various volatile and/or non-volatile memory, and theelectronic product data can be stored within such memory. Alternativelyand/or additionally this memory can reside remote from the mediationcomponent 110. It is to be appreciated that the electronic product datacan be variously stored. For example, the data can be stored in recordsof a database as described in detail below in connection with FIG. 4.Stored electronic product data can be conveyed to an interface component130. The interface component 130 can provide communication interfaces toconvey at least a portion of the electronic product data to the one ormore of the entities of the control system. Such interfaces can includeessentially any interface, including subscribe and query basedinterfaces that enable an entity to subscribe to receive electronicproduct data and/or a signal quality indictor when such data becomesavailable and/or query saved electronic product data.

It is to be appreciated that the mediation component 110 can beintegrated within control systems. In one instance, the mediationcomponent 110 can be another entity of the control system and, thus,additionally provides functionality that facilitates control systemoperation. In another instance, the mediation component 110 can be anadditional component that facilitates electronic product data exchangeas described herein. By way of example, the mediation component 110 canfacilitate inter-entity (inter-agent) negotiations in a conveyor-basedtransportation system, wherein the mediation component 110 can beemployed in connection with diverter entities that navigate (e.g.,switch) products between conveyor tracks. In one instance, a diverterentity subscribes to the mediation component 110 to receive electronicproduct data (e.g., EPCs and related data) of incoming products, whereinthe processing component 120 collects the electronic product data fromphysical readers residing proximate the diverter entity. Productstypically are linked with a product entity that is registered in thecontrol system under the identity of a corresponding electronic productdata. The diverter entity, after receiving the electronic product datafrom the mediation component 120 can communicate with the product entityand query for a product destination in order to suitably navigate theproduct and/or other product related information.

It is to be appreciated that the mediation component 110, the processingcomponent 120 and/or the interface component 130 can be software and/orhardware based. For example, these components can be implemented inessentially any programming language, such as, for example, C or Javabased languages. In addition, a markup language such as ExtensibleMarkup Language (XML) and/or Physical Markup Language (PML) can beutilized to define a system configuration, which can include informationon mapping between logical-physical readers, available filters, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an agent-based control system 200 that employs amediation component 210 to distribute electronic product data such asEPC data to a community of autonomous, intelligent computational units,or agents 220 ₁, 220 ₂ and 220 ₃, collectively referred to as the agents220. In addition, the system enables any of the agents 220 to sendcommands (e.g., through appropriate system components) to instructelectronic product data readers, for example, to switch a reader ON orOFF, to write a tag or data, etc. As depicted, the system 200 includesthe three agents 220 ₁, 220 ₂ and 220 ₃; however it is to be appreciatedthat the system 200 can employ any number of agents, for example,depending on the task(s) performed by the control system 200. Threeagents are illustrated within this example for sake of brevity andexplanatory purposes. Respective agents 220 can be responsible for localdecision making and control of explicit and/or implicit acts within acontrol process. In such a system, the agents 220 typically cooperate toprovide a desirable global behavior of the controlled system and/orprocess. Typically, cooperation between the agents 220 is based oncommunication via sending messages following various interaction andnegotiation scenarios and/or protocols.

The mediation component 210 works in concert with the agents 220,collects and stores electronic data, and provides this data to theagents 220 via inter-agent communication mechanisms. The mediationcomponent 210 can reside and execute within essentially anymicroprocessor based device. For example, the mediation component 210can run within a personal computer, a laptop, a human interface machine,a handheld computer, a workstation, any of the agents 220, aprogrammable logic controller, a hardware module, a software module,firmware, a state machine, a microprocessor, etc. In addition, themediation component 210 can be distributed and execute across systems ina distributed environment. The mediation component 210 can be integratedin the community of agents 220 to coordinate inter-agent negotiationprocesses regarding product or semi-product EPCs.

An interface component 230 typically communicates electronic data to theagents 220 through inter-agent communication mechanisms (e.g., aSubscribe Interaction Protocol such as FIPA, ACS/JDL, etc.) to subscribeto receive electronic data from the meditation component 210 wheneverelectronic data is received by the mediation component 210. In addition,the agents 220 can subscribe to receive a signal quality indicatorassociated with received electronic data and/or other environmentalinformation. The signal quality indicator and/or the other environmentalinformation can be utilized to resolve the source of the electronic data(e.g., the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag that emitted theelectronic data) and the location thereof. Additionally, any of theagents 220 can query the mediation component 210 to obtain historicaldata, for example, electronic data read within a particular time period(e.g., between timestamps), signal quality indicators read within aparticular time period (e.g., between timestamps), timestampscorresponding to a particular electronic data, signal quality indicatorscorresponding to a particular electronic data, etc. Such data can beprovided by the mediation component 210 to a subscriber(s) and/orrequestor(s) agent as a list of records as described in detail below.

A processing module 240 provides one or more interfaces (e.g., readerand server interfaces) to RFID based readers, which obtain EPC dataand/or other electronic data from RFID tags affixed to products, and/orservers that store EPC data provide by a reader and/or loaded by a user.RFID tags typically are constructed via a chip (e.g., silicon,germanium, etc.) and an antenna, and EPC data can be encoded (e.g., as aninety-six or other bit code) therein by a reader and/or othermechanism. EPC data received by the processing module 240 can beprocessed or unprocessed data. For example, a reader can obtain EPCsfrom essentially any RFID tag within its antenna's range. Such datatypically is raw data that is conveyed to the processing module 240 as astream, one or more bursts, or one or more data packets. Such conveyancecan be through periodic transmissions by the reader. In another example,raw EPC data can be processed by a reader and/or a server, stored withinthe server, and conveyed to the processing module 240. Raw EPC datatypically is filtered and/or processed by the processing module 240,wherein filtering can provide a mechanism to accept desired EPC data andprocessing can be utilized to format the data in a form suitable to theagents 220. Processed data typically is already in a format suitable forthe agents 220 and, thus, generally is not filtered by the processingmodule 240. However, the invention is not so limited; the processingmodule 240 can be utilized to further filter and modify the format ofthe data, if desired.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system 300 that integrates a mediation component inconnection with an agent-based control system. The system 300 includes aplurality of readers 305 that receive EPC and/or other electronic datafrom RFID tags. The readers 305 can convey the EPC data to one or moreservers 310, which can filter, process and/or store the data and/or areader interface 315 of a processing module 320. The EPC data receivedby the reader interface 315 through an RFID Reader Driver Plug-in. Thisinterface can utilize various communication channels such as Ethernet,serial port, Firewire, USB, parallel port, etc. in connection withsuitable communication protocols (e.g., generic and reader dependentprotocols). It is to be appreciated that different plug-ins can beemployed by the reader interface 315, based on the manufacturer (orvendor) of the reader. EPCs from the one or more servers 310 can bereceived by a server interface 325 of a processing module 320. Theserver interface 325 can include an interface that utilizes an Ethernetor other type of connection.

The processing module 320 further includes a filter and processingcomponent 330 that can be utilized to process raw EPC data receivedthrough the reader interface 315 and/or the sever interface 325. Thefilter and processing component 330 can be utilized to discriminatebetween EPCs, for example, to recognize and store particular EPCs, whilediscarding other EPCs. Typically, data received through the serverinterface 325 is already processed and does not require filtering and/orprocessing; however, such data may be unprocessed or additionalfiltering and/or processing may be desired. The filter and processingcomponent 330 can convey the data to a storage component 335. Asdescribed previously, suitable storage components can include localand/or remote volatile and/or non-volatile memory.

An application interface 340 of the processing component 320 can beutilized to transfer EPC data stored in the storage component 335 to anagent communication interface 345 coupled to a plurality of agents 350₁, 350 ₂, and 350 ₃, collectively referred to as agents 350 and/oressentially any application, for example, applications employing acomponent substantially similar to the processing module 320. The agentcommunication interface 345 can provide EPC data to the agents 350 viainter-agent communication mechanisms such as a Subscribe InteractionProtocol. For example, as depicted the agent 350 ₁ can subscribe toreceive EPC information whenever an RFID tag enters and/or leaves anassociated antenna's coverage area. In another example, the agent 350 ₂can query, or request, EPC data. In one instance, such request can befor historical data. For example, the historical data can be related toEPC codes and/or a signal quality indicator read within a specificperiod of time and/or timestamps and/or signal quality indicatorscorresponding to a particular EPC code. This information can be conveyedto the agent 350 ₂ as a list of records as described next.

It is to be appreciated that the processing module 320, and componentstherein, and the agent interface component 345 can reside within ameditation component 355, and that the mediation component 355 can bepart of or separate from the agent control system. In addition, themediation component 355 can run within a computer, an industrialcontroller, and the like.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system 400 that integrates an EPC mediationcomponent 405 with an agent-based control system 410. The system 400includes a plurality of RFID readers 415 and a server 420 that providesEPC as well as other electronic data to a processing module 425. Ingeneral, EPC data from the plurality of readers 415 is received by areader interface 430 of the processing module 425, and EPC data from theserver 420 is received by a server interface 430 of the processingmodule 425. The reader interface 430 can employ one or more plug-ins(e.g., RFID Reader Driver Plug-ins) to facilitate communication withvarious readers. For example, each of the readers 415 can employ one ormore plug-ins and/or protocols, wherein respective plug-ins can beassociated with different reader manufacturers or vendors, readermodels, reader software, etc. Such EPC data can be processed and/or rawdata and communicated through various communication channels andprotocols as described herein. Received EPC data is conveyed by thereader interface 430 and/or the server interface 435 to a filter andprocessing component 440, wherein the EPC data can be filtered and/orprocessed, if desired, for example, to selectively accept EPC data andformat raw data.

EPC data is conveyed by the filter and processing component 440 to astorage component 445. The storage component 445 is depicted as a twodimensional table; however, it is to be appreciated that this example isillustrative and not limitative, and that essentially any technique forstoring data can be employed in accordance with aspects of theinvention. For example, the table can be a database of records. Inaddition, essentially any number of rows and columns can be utilized tostore the data, and the table can be one, two, three, four, . . . , Ndimensional, wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than one. Asdepicted, the storage component 445 includes a plurality of columns 450and a plurality of rows 455 in which EPC data is stored. In thisexample, the columns 450 are utilized to store EPC codes, logical readeridentifiers (e.g., denoting the logical reader), time stamps, and flagsthat indicate whether a RFID tag is within a coverage area of one ormore antennas associated with a reader, respectively. The flag can beset based on incoming EPC (e.g., a sequence of EPC) data and/or by atransmitting reader (e.g., one of the readers 415), the server 420and/or a photo-eye. It is to be understood that the columns 450 could beutilized to store more or less, and/or different information.

Respective rows 455 are associated with individual EPC codes. By way ofexample, a first row 460 includes an EPC code 110 . . . 0011, anassociated logical reader identifier LR1, a timestamp of 12:35:00:00,and an “IN” flag that denotes the RFID tag entered the coverage area ofantennas of the readers 415; a second row 465 includes an EPC code 101 .. . 1101, an associated logical reader identifier LR2, a timestamp of12:35:05:30, and an “IN” flag that denotes the RFID tag entered thecoverage area of the readers 415; and a third row 470 includes an EPCcode 110 . . . 1010, an associated logical reader identifier LR2, atimestamp of 12:35:45:20, and an “OUT” flag that denotes the RFID tagleft the coverage area of the readers 415. As described in detail below,a logical reader can be defined by one or more physical readers andassociated antennas.

The EPC data stored in the storage component 445 can be conveyed throughan application interface 475 to an agent communication interface 480,which facilitates distributing the EPC data to one or more agents of theagent based control system 410 and/or other systems. The agentcommunication interface 480 can provide EPC data to agents within theagent based control system 475 via inter-agent communication mechanismssuch as subscribe and/or query mechanisms as described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system 500 that includes a mediation component 502that receives EPC and/or other electronic data via various RFID readersand/or servers. The system 500 includes a physical RFID reader 504 and aphysical RFID reader 506. However, it is to be understood thatessentially any number of physical readers can be employed in accordancewith the invention. The physical RFID reader 504 is associated with anantenna 508, and the physical reader 506 is associated with an antenna510 and an antenna 512. A logical RFID reader 514 can be formed from thephysical RFID reader 504 and the antenna 508, and a logical RFID reader516 can be formed from the physical RFID reader 506 and the antennas 510and 512. A reading from antenna 508 can be represented as a reading fromthe logical RFID reader 514, and a reading from antenna 510 and/or 512can be represented as a reading from the logical RFID reader 516.

The system 500 further includes a server 518 that stores EPC data. TheEPC data stored within the server 518 can be uploaded and/or downloadedfrom a user and/or programmer's interface (not shown) and/or from thereaders 504 and 506. Typically, EPC data received from the readers 504and 506 is raw data, which can be filtered and processed within theserver 518 before, during and/or after saving the EPC data. The EPC datawithin the server 518 can be stored as records within a database orother formats, for example, binary and ASCII. The EPC data read by thereaders 504 and 506 and/or stored in the server 518 can be conveyed to aprocessing module 520 of the mediation component 502 for storage anddistribution to one or more agents of an agent based control system. Theprocessing module 520 can include a reader interface 522 that can acceptEPC data from the readers 504 and 506 as described herein. Theprocessing module 520 further includes a server interface 524 thataccepts EPC data from the server 518 as described herein. The serverinterface 560 can include interfaces to a Savant-like server.

The processing module 520 further includes a filter and processingcomponent 526 that can filter EPC data to discriminate between EPCs andformat the data. Suitable filtering includes recognizing and filteringduplicate readings. For example, when an RFID tag enters a range of oneof the antennas 508, 510 and 512, the corresponding physical RFID reader(physical RFID reader 504 or physical RFID reader 506) periodicallyreads electronic data transmitted from the RFID tag and sends it to themediation component 502. In many instances, the reader reads duplicateelectronic data emitted by the RFID tag. For example, the reader , 504can read the same EPC code multiple times per second. In anotherexample, two RFID tags can be within the range of the antenna 508. Inthis instance, the reader 504 can read duplicate data from both RFIDtags (e.g., EPC1, EPC2, EPC1, EPC1, EPC2 . . . ). Suitable filtering canrecognize and discriminate between the two RFID tags. For example, thefiltering can recognize that two tags with different electronic dataentered the reader at a particular time and consider the mapping betweenphysical and logical readers. The filter and processing component 526can convey the EPC data to a storage component 528, and stored EPC datastored can be distributed to one or more agents 530 through anapplication interface 532 and an agent interface 534, as describedpreviously.

The following discussion provides two specific examples that furtherexplain possible mappings between physical and logical RFID readers. Itis to be appreciated that these examples are illustrative and do notlimit the invention. A first example depicts a conveyor belt system witha physical reader 538 coupled to a plurality of antennas 540, 542, 544and 546. The system further includes a logical reader 548 formed fromthe antennas 540 and 542, and a logical reader 550 formed from theantennas 544 and 546. The antenna 540, for example, can read a tag 552,a tag 554, or both tags 552 and 554 and, simultaneously, the antenna 542can read the tag 554, the tag 552, or both tags 552 and 554. Afiltration module (e.g., the filter and processing component 524) candetermine the tags 552 and 554 have been read by the logical reader 548.Likewise, the antenna 544, for example, can read a tag 556, a tag 558,or both tags 556 and 558 and, simultaneously, the antenna 546 can readthe tag 558, the tag 556, or both tags 556 and 558. The filtrationmodule can determine the tags 556 and 558 have been read by the logicalreader 550. A second example depicts a dock door, wherein a singlelogical reader 560 is formed from a physical reader 562 and associatedantennas 564, 566, 568 and 570 and a physical reader 572 and associatedantennas 574, 576, 578 and 580. Utilizing several antennas can ensuethat all tags going through the dock door (e.g., on pallets on a track)will be read. Some tags will be read by the antennas 564, 566, 568 and570 (e.g., tags closer to these antennas), and some tags will be read bythe antennas 574, 576, 578 and 580 (e.g., tags closer to theseantennas). However, all tags go through the same area and, thus, belongto the same logical reader 560.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system 600 that employs intelligence to facilitatedistribution on electronic product data to agents within an agent basedcontrol system. The system 600 includes a mediation component 610 thatcollects, filters, processes and/or distributes the electronic productdata. The system 600 further includes an intelligent component 620 thatfacilitates collecting, filtering, processing and/or distributing theelectronic product data utilizing the mediation component 610. Forexample, a plurality of RFID readers 630 can be associated withrespective antenna coverage areas, wherein individual readers can scanand read the electronic product data from RFID tags within theirrespective coverage areas. Such electronic product data can be conveyedto the mediation component 610. The intelligent component 620 canfacilitate recognizing data (e.g., as raw or processed data, the logicalreader, the physical reader . . . ) and directing it to the appropriatereader interface (not shown). Similarly, the intelligent component 620can facilitate recognizing the electronic product data received from aserver 640 and directing it to an appropriate server interface (notshown).

Upon receiving electronic product data at an interface, the intelligentcomponent 620 can facilitate determining whether the data should befiltered and/or formatted. Such filtering can include saving electronicproduct data deemed to be desired and discarding remaining, includingduplicate electronic product data. The intelligent component 620 canthen be utilized to facilitate storing the electronic product data. Forexample, the intelligent component 620 can parse the electronic productdata and store respective portions within different fields. In oneinstance, such fields can be associated with a database table asdescribed herein. The intelligent component 620 can facilitate conveyingthe stored electronic product data to one or more agents 650 asdescribed herein. Such conveyance can be in accordance with agentsubscriptions and/or queries, wherein the electronic product data isprovided to an agent based on a corresponding subscription or query.

It is to be appreciated that the intelligent component 620 can utilizestatistics, heuristics, probabilities, historical data, costs, etc. inconnection with facilitating the mediation component 610 by performing aprobabilistic and/or statistic-based analysis, which can be utilized toinfer and/or render decisions. As utilized herein, the term “inference”and variations thereof generally refers to the process of reasoningabout or inferring states of the system, environment, and/or user from aset of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can beemployed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate aprobability distribution over states, for example. The inference can beprobabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distributionover states of interest based on a consideration of data and events.Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composinghigher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inferenceresults in the construction of new events or actions from a set ofobserved events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events arecorrelated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and datacome from one or several event and data sources. Various classification(explicitly and/or implicitly trained) schemes and/or systems (e.g.,support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesianbelief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines . . . ) can beemployed in connection with performing automatic and/or inferred actionin connection with the subject invention.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate methodologies, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, themethodologies are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to beunderstood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited bythe order of acts, as some acts can, in accordance with the presentinvention, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other actsfrom that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in theart will understand and appreciate that one or more of the methodologiescould alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states orevents, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated actsmay be required to implement the methodologies in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 for distributing electronic product data(e.g., EPC codes, logical reader identifiers, timestamps, flags, producttype, date of manufacture, lot number, case information, palletinformation, and container information) received from RFID readers toagents in an agent-based control system. At 710, electronic product data(e.g., unprocessed and processed) from one or more RFID readers isreceived. The electronic product data from the reader can be received byone or more reader interfaces such as an RFID reader plug-in associatedwith the manufacturer of the reader. Typically, conveyance of theelectronic product data is through an Ethernet connection utilizing acommunication protocol supported by the reader manufacturer.

At 720, the electronic product data is filtered. Such filtering includesrecognizing and filtering duplicate readings. For example, when an RFIDtag enters a range of an antenna of a reader, the reader begins toperiodically read the electronic data from the RFID tag and send theread data. In many instances, the reader reads duplicate electronic dataemitted by the RFID tag (e.g., the same EPC code, for example, 100readings of the same EPC per second). In another example, two RFID tagscan be within the range of the antenna. In this instance, the reader canread duplicate data from both RFID tags (e.g., EPC1, EPC2, EPC1, EPC1,EPC2 . . . ). The filtering can recognize that two tags with differentelectronic data entered the reader at a particular time and consider themapping between physical and logical readers. At reference numeral 730,electronic product data is processed. Such processing includesformatting the electronic product data for subsequent storage,recognizing electronic product data of interest, etc. At 740, theelectronic product data is stored. In one instance, the electronicproduct data is stored as records in a table, wherein individual rowsare utilized to delineate related electronic product data across fields,or columns. In one example, individual fields can store the electronicproduct code, a logical reader, a timestamp, a flag that indicateswhether a RFID tag is within an antennas range, etc.

At reference numeral 750, stored electronic product data is provided toone or more agents of the agent-based control system. Conveyance of suchdata can be in response to a subscription (e.g., a Subscribe InteractionProtocol) by the agent to receive electronic product code informationand/or signal quality information whenever an RFID tag enters anantennas range. In another instance, one or more of the agents canautomatically receive such information. In yet another example,intelligence can be employed to determine when or if received and/orstored electronic product data should be conveyed to an agent. In stillanother example, conveyance can be in response to a request forhistorical information. It is to be appreciated that communicationbetween agents of the agent-based control system and the RFID readers isbi-directional, and any of the agents can transmit to an RFID reader.For example, an agent can transmit a command(s) to instruct an RFIDreader to transition to an ON state, transition to an OFF state, writeto a tag, write data, etc.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method 800 for distributing electronic dataobtained from a server to agents in an agent-based control system. Atreference numeral 810, EPC data from a server is received. For example,a server interface can be provided to receive electronic data fromessentially any server. Typically, such data is formatted and stored,for example, within records of a database associated with the server. Inthese instances, the formatted data or records can be conveyed to theserver interface. Typically, electronic data can be conveyed through anEthernet connection utilizing a communication protocol supported by theserver. However, it is to be appreciated that any wire and/or wirelessconnection can be utilized in accordance with aspects of the invention.

At 820, the electronic data can be stored. If desired, prior to storagethe electronic data can be filtered and/or processed. However, theelectronic data received from a server typically has been filtered andprocessed and, thus, additional filtering and processing may or may notbe desired. In one example, the electronic data is stored as records ina table. As such, individual rows can include one or more fields thatstore particular portions of the electronic data. For example,individual fields can store the electronic data code, a logical readeridentifier, a timestamp, a flag that indicates whether a RFID tag iswithin an antenna's coverage area, etc. At reference numeral 830, storedelectronic data can be provided to one or more agents of the agent-basedcontrol system. Conveyance of such data can be in response to asubscription and/or query.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method 900 that provides electronic data to agentsin an agent-based control system. At reference numeral 910, one or moreagents subscribe to receive electronic data code information whenever anRFID tag enters an antenna's coverage area. At 920, electronic datareceived from a reader and/or a server. At 930, the electronic data isfiltered, processed and/or stored as described herein. At 940, theelectronic data is provided to subscribed agents. FIG. 10 illustrates amethod 1000 for an agent to retrieve electronic data. At referencenumeral 1010, one or more agents issue a query for electronic data. Suchquery can be a request for historical data from an EPC database. Forexample, the query can be to get all electronic data codes read within aparticular time period (e.g., between two timestamps). In anotherexample, the query can be for a list of timestamps corresponding to aparticular electronic data code. At 1020, the mediation componentretrieves the requested data, and at 1030, the requested data isprovided to requesting agent.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the invention,FIGS. 11 and 12 as well as the following discussion are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environmentin which the various aspects of the present invention can beimplemented. While the invention has been described above in the generalcontext of computer-executable instructions of a computer program thatruns on a computer and/or computers, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the invention also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods may bepracticed with other computer system configurations, includingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, and the like. The illustrated aspects of the invention mayalso be practiced in distributed computing environments where task areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. However, some, if not all aspects of theinvention can be practiced on stand-alone computers. In a distributedcomputing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 11, an exemplary environment 1110 forimplementing various aspects of the invention includes a computer 1112.The computer 1112 includes a processing unit 1114, a system memory 1116,and a system bus 1118. The system bus 1118 couples system componentsincluding, but not limited to, the system memory 1116 to the processingunit 1114. The processing unit 1114 can be any of various availableprocessors. Dual microprocessors and other multiprocessor architecturesalso can be employed as the processing unit 1114.

The system bus 1118 can be any of several types of bus structure(s)including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus orexternal bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available busarchitectures including, but not limited to, 11-bit bus, IndustrialStandard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), ExtendedISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB),Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Universal Serial Bus (USB),Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association bus (PCMCIA), and Small Computer SystemsInterface (SCSI).

The system memory 1116 includes volatile memory 1120 and nonvolatilememory 1122. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basicroutines to transfer information between elements within the computer1112, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 1122. Byway of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 1122 caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory 1120 includes random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM).

Computer 1112 also includes removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. FIG. 11 illustrates, forexample a disk storage 1124. Disk storage 1124 includes, but is notlimited to, devices like a magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tapedrive, Jaz drive, Zip drive, LS-100 drive, flash memory card, or memorystick. In addition, disk storage 1124 can include storage mediaseparately or in combination with other storage media including, but notlimited to, an optical disk drive such as a compact disk ROM device(CD-ROM), CD recordable drive (CD-R Drive), CD rewritable drive (CD-RWDrive) or a digital versatile disk ROM drive (DVD-ROM). To facilitateconnection of the disk storage devices 1124 to the system bus 1118, aremovable or non-removable interface is typically used such as interface1126.

It is to be appreciated that FIG. 11 describes software that acts as anintermediary between users and the basic computer resources described insuitable operating environment 1110. Such software includes an operatingsystem 1128. Operating system 1128, which can be stored on disk storage1124, acts to control and allocate resources of the computer system1112. System applications 1130 take advantage of the management ofresources by operating system 1128 through program modules 1132 andprogram data 1134 stored either in system memory 1116 or on disk storage1124. It is to be appreciated that the present invention can beimplemented with various operating systems or combinations of operatingsystems.

A user enters commands or information into the computer 1112 throughinput device(s) 1136. Input devices 1136 include, but are not limitedto, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad,keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TVtuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and thelike. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1114through the system bus 1118 via interface port(s) 1138. Interfaceport(s) 1138 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, agame port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1140 usesome of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1136. Thus, forexample, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1112 and tooutput information from computer 1112 to an output device 1140. Outputadapter 1142 is provided to illustrate that there are some outputdevices 1140 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other outputdevices 1140, which require special adapters. The output adapters 1142include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and soundcards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1140and the system bus 1118. It should be noted that other devices and/orsystems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such asremote computer(s) 1144.

Computer 1112 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s)1144. The remote computer(s) 1144 can be a personal computer, a server,a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance,a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to computer1112. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1146 isillustrated with remote computer(s) 1144. Remote computer(s) 1144 islogically connected to computer 1112 through a network interface 1148and then physically connected via communication connection 1150. Networkinterface 1148 encompasses communication networks such as local-areanetworks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). LAN technologies includeFiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed DataInterface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE 1102.3, Token Ring/IEEE 1102.5 and thelike. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-pointlinks, circuit switching networks like Integrated Services DigitalNetworks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, andDigital Subscriber Lines (DSL).

Communication connection(s) 1150 refers to the hardware/softwareemployed to connect the network interface 1148 to the bus 1118. Whilecommunication connection 1150 is shown for illustrative clarity insidecomputer 1112, it can also be external to computer 1112. Thehardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1148includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and externaltechnologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems,cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a sample-computing environment1200 with which the present invention can interact. The system 1200includes one or more client(s) 1210. The client(s) 1210 can be hardwareand/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). Thesystem 1200 also includes one or more server(s) 1230. The server(s) 1230can also be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes,computing devices). The servers 1230 can house threads to performtransformations by employing the present invention, for example. Onepossible communication between a client 1210 and a server 1230 can be inthe form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or morecomputer processes. The system 1200 includes a communication framework1250 that can be employed to facilitate communications between theclient(s) 1210 and the server(s) 1230. The client(s) 1210 are operablyconnected to one or more client data store(s) 1260 that can be employedto store information local to the client(s) 1210. Similarly, theserver(s) 1230 are operably connected to one or more server datastore(s) 1240 that can be employed to store information local to theservers 1230.

What has been described above includes examples of the presentinvention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentinvention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intendedto embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the invention. In thisregard, it will also be recognized that the invention includes a systemas well as a computer-readable medium having computer-executableinstructions for performing the acts and/or events of the variousmethods of the invention.

In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have beendisclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, suchfeature may be combined with one or more other features of the otherimplementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given orparticular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms“includes,” and “including” and variants thereof are used in either thedetailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

1. A system that facilitates electronic data distribution to one or moreagents within an agent-based control system, comprising: a readerinterface that receives electronic data from one or more Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) readers; a filter component that filters theelectronic data received by the reader interface to recognize dataassociated with electronic data of interest and/or to mitigate receivingduplicate electronic data; a processing component that formats theelectronic data and stores it in a table, the electronic data isprocessed to a format suitable to the agents; and a component thatprovides at least a subset of the stored electronic data to agentssubscribed to receive the subset of the stored electronic data via aninter-agent communication mechanism, the agents are responsible forlocal decision making and cooperate to provide desirable global behaviorof the agent-based control system.
 2. The system of claim 1, theelectronic data comprises at least one of an Electronic Product Code(EPC), a logical reader identifier, a timestamp, a flag indicating theelectronic data is within an antenna's range, a product type, a date ofmanufacture, a lot number, an associated case, an associated pallet, andan associated container level.
 3. The system of claim 1, the readerinterface employs RFID Driver Plug-ins to receive the electronic datafrom RFID readers associated with different vendors.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, the RFID Reader Driver Plug-ins utilize a wire or wirelessconnection to exchange the electronic data.
 5. The system of claim 3,the RFID Reader Driver Plug-ins employ vendor communication protocols tocommunicate with a vendor's RFID reader.
 6. The system of claim 1, theelectronic data is delineated in the table based on an EPC code and/or atype.
 7. The system of claim 1, the electronic data is stored in adatabase or memory.
 8. The system of claim 1, the electronic data isunprocessed data.
 9. The system of claim 1, further comprising anintelligent component that employs at least one of statistics,probabilities, inferences, and classifiers to facilitate one or more ofcollecting, filtering, formatting, storing and distributing theelectronic data.
 10. The system of claim 1, the subset of the storedelectronic data is conveyed to the agents as records of data.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, the inter-agent communication interface is one of asubscription mechanism, wherein at least one of the agents subscribesand is informed each time an RFID tag enters a reader's range, and aquery mechanism, wherein at least one of the agents requests andreceives historical data.
 12. A system that facilitates electronicproduct data distribution to an agent-based control system, comprising:means for obtaining electronic product data from one or more RFIDreaders; means for filtering the electronic product data received by theRFID readers to recognize data associated with electronic product dataof interest and/or to mitigate receiving duplicate electronic productdata; means for storing the electronic product data in a structuredformat; and means for providing the stored electronic product data toagents in the agent-based control system via an inter-agentcommunication mechanism, the agents are responsible for local decisionmaking and cooperate to provide desirable global behavior of theagent-based control system.